About the crop

Climate and Soil

Being a leguminous crop gram needs less rainfall and having a deep-rooted system it does very well under dry tracts, which receive an annual rainfall of 60-100 cm. It prefers fairly cold weather but frost is deadly harmful, especially at flowering and grain formation stages. Hailstorm at maturity causes great damage to the crop.

Land preparation

Gram needs clodded and rough seedbed for good aeration in root zone; thus a required seedbed may be obtained by one deep ploughing followed by two harrowings. In diara lands one ploughing by desi plough brings about cloddy condition and the crop can be sown.

Varieties

Chaffa, BDN 9-3,T 3, H 355 N 31,N 59, Vikas,D 8, Pusa 209, Pusa 244, Pusa 212, Pusa 417, Pusa 256, ICCC 4, L 550

Sowing

a) Sowing time :

Second fortnight of October is found to be the best sowing time but it may be delayed by first week of November for higher yields

b) Seed rate:

The seed rate is decided by seed size and weight but a seed rate of 75 to 100 kg/ha depending on these factors is used

c) Spacing:

A row spacing of 30 cm in desi types (Cicer areitinum) and 40-45 cm in Kabuli types (Cicer kabulium) should be used.

Irrigation

The crop is grown mostly under rain fed conditions where irrigations are not possible but researchers have indicated that for higher yields light irrigations are possible. There should be sufficient moisture in the soil while sowing the crop, one light irrigation at flowering and one light irrigation at grain development stage are required for good crop.

Harvesting and Yield

The crop matures within 130-140 days. After maturity the plants are pulled out or when cut with a sickle leaves become reddish brown, dry up and start shedding. The harvested plants are carted to the threshing-floor, dried for about a week and threshed by trampling them under the feet of bullocks or by beating them with sticks.

A good pure crop of gram gives about 15-20 quintals yield/ha in case of desi varieties but the Kabuli varieties give about 25-30 quintals/ha yield. The yield in case of mixed or intercrop depends upon the plant population of gram.